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Biomedical subjects

L Fabbri

Publications and source records attributed to L Fabbri.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and streptozotocin in carcinoid tumors of gastrointestinal origin: experiences with 13 patients.

The Authors report their experiences on the treatment of 13 consecutive cases of gastro-intestinal carcinoid tumors observed over the last 11 years. The primary sites were as follows: intestine (5 cases), appendix (3 cases), colon (1 case) and peritoneum (4 cases); only 3 patients presented systemic signs. Ten patients in advanced phase were treated with a chemotherapeutic regimen containing 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) and streptozotocin (STZ). One case was excluded from the study because of a concomitant gastric carcinoma. Of the 9 evaluable patients, two achieved partial remission (22%) with a duration of 18+ and 66 months respectively; 4 (44.5%) had stable disease for periods ranging from 7 to 40 months and 3 cases progressed. Severe toxicity (thrombocytopenia and diarrhea) occurred in 2 cases and disappeared with the suspension of therapy. The systemic signs disappeared with treatment and did not appear in 2 cases out of 3. The prospective of the employment of new drugs such as alpha-interferon and, above all, somatostatin provides hope that this uncommon disease may have an improved response rate to treatment in the future.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Clinical development of a drug for brain aging. Current limitations and future prospects].

The clinical development of any drug used in the treatment of brain-ageing, poses many methodological problems regarding the difficulty in defining precisely the pathology, both from the point of view of diagnostic and of terminology, the lack of specific parameters for assessing the therapeutic efficacy and the difficulty of establishing homogeneous trial sample, since the geriatric population is a very heterogeneous whole. The authors, in the light of the research done, state their methodology and give their directives; among them: common training for all the examiners, in order to make execution and classification of the tests extremely homogeneous the drug is evaluated through psychometric tests, which analyze the patient both physically and mentally.

Acetylcarnitine↗
PubMed1990

Methodology of a controlled clinical study for cerebral aging evaluation.

A multicentre study was planned and executed to evaluate the effect of acetyl-L-carnitine in the treatment of cerebral aging. Using 42 health centres, whose comparability of methodology was ensured through a training seminar and an instructional booklet on the psychometric battery of tests employed, some 400 elderly patients aged 60-80 years were enrolled using strict selection criteria. Treatment was run in four phases over 150 days. The first phase, serving as the baseline evaluation, defined through a battery of tests, consisted of 30-day placebo treatment. In the second phase of 45 days, daily treatment with 1500 mg acetyl-L-carnitine was given followed by a psychometric evaluation. For the next 45 days the same drug therapy was employed with a complete psychometric evaluation on the final day. In the last phase of 30 days the placebo was again administered and a final assessment made of the residual benefits of the 90-day treatment with acetyl-L-carnitine. Using this plan made it possible to evaluate the placebo effects, perform cross-study comparisons and demonstrate the effectiveness of the drug treatment.

Acetylcarnitine↗
PubMed1989

Myosin heavy-chain isoforms in human smooth muscle.

The myosin heavy-chain composition of human smooth muscle has been investigated by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, enzyme immunoassay, and enzyme-immunoblotting procedures. A polyclonal and a monoclonal antibody specific for smooth muscle myosin heavy chains were used in this study. The two antibodies were unreactive with sarcomeric myosin heavy chains and with platelet myosin heavy chain on enzyme immunoassay and immunoblots, and stained smooth muscle cells but not non-muscle cells in cryosections and cultures processed for indirect immunofluorescence. Two myosin heavy-chain isoforms, designated MHC-1 and MHC-2 (205 kDa and 200 kDa, respectively) were reactive with both antibodies on immunoblots of pyrophosphate extracts from different smooth muscles (arteries, veins, intestinal wall, myometrium) electrophoresed in 4% polyacrylamide gels. In the pulmonary artery, a third myosin heavy-chain isoform (MHC-3, 190 kDa) electrophoretically and antigenically distinguishable from human platelet myosin heavy chain, was specifically recognized by the monoclonal antibody. Analysis of muscle samples, directly solubilized in a sodium dodecyl sulfate solution, and degradation experiments performed on pyrophosphate extracts ruled out the possibility that MHC-3 is a proteolytic artefact. Polypeptides of identical electrophoretic mobility were also present in the other smooth muscle preparations, but were unreactive with this antibody. The presence of three myosin heavy-chain isoforms in the pulmonary artery may be related to the unique physiological properties displayed by the smooth muscle of this artery.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Persistent asthma due to isocyanates. A follow-up study of subjects with occupational asthma due to toluene diisocyanate (TDI).

Thirty-five subjects with occupational asthma due to toluene diisocyanate (TDI) exposure were examined. All the subjects were studied with inhalation challenges with TDI and with methacholine. TDI asthma was documented by a positive inhalation challenge to low levels of TDI. Airway responsiveness to methacholine was in the range of asthmatic patients at the time of diagnosis. After an average follow-up interval of 10 months, all the subjects were re-examined. Of the 35 subjects examined, 30 subjects (85.7%) left the workplace, and 5 remained in the same job. Twenty-seven subjects (77.1%) continued to have asthmatic attacks requiring medication for relief of symptoms. At follow-up examination, TDI asthma was documented by a positive inhalation challenge to TDI in 27 subjects. Of these 27 TDI reactors, 22 subjects were removed from occupational exposure to TDI. The TDI reactors had persistent respiratory symptoms and airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine. At follow-up visit, 8 subjects (22.9%) lost sensitization to TDI; 5 subjects (62.5%) in this group had also normal airway responsiveness to methacholine after removal from exposure. Only 1 subject among the TDI nonreactors complained of mild respiratory symptoms. At diagnosis, there were no significant differences between subjects who recovered and those who did not with regard to age, smoking habits, atopy, duration of exposure to isocyanates, duration of symptoms, baseline FEV1 (% pred), and baseline airway responsiveness to methacholine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Asthma↗
PubMed1986

Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) potentiates cholinergic responsiveness in guinea-pig trachea.

PGD2 dose dependently potentiated the parasympathetic-induced contraction in guinea-pig trachea in vitro. This phenomenon was much more evident in ovalbumin-sensitized guinea-pig trachea. Indomethacin pretreatment enhanced the capacity of PGD2 to potentiate cholinergic-induced contraction in normal but not in ovalbumin-sensitized guinea-pig. PGD2 shifted to the left the curve of the exogenous acetylcholine-induced contraction in guinea-pig trachea, indicating a postsynaptic site of action of PGD2. These data suggest a role of PGD2 in the genesis of hyperreactivity of tracheal smooth muscles, particularly in a model of pulmonary anaphylaxis.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1986

The evolution of anti-ulcer therapy with cimetidine. Is a single large nocturnal dose of cimetidine the right therapy for duodenal ulcer?

Peptic ulcer results from the prevalence of agents causing endoluminal lesions over the defence mechanisms of the mucosa of the upper GI tract. Particularly, in the case of duodenal ulcer, the pathogenetic relevance of non-buffered acid secretion of the early nighttime period has been emphasized. This is indeed confirmed by the fact that a single night dose of 800 mg cimetidine has apparently been proved able--in numerous controlled clinical trials--to provide results that are similar to those obtained with the classic dose of 1 g daily or 400 mg twice daily. Our centre carried out a crossover double-blind controlled trial aimed at evaluating titrable acidity and pH during the 24-h period in seven patients with active duodenal ulcer. The single nighttime dose of cimetidine resulted in a significant and long-lasting inhibition of acid secretion during the entire night. During the day, secretory values returned to levels similar to those obtained with placebo, hence allowing normal digestive functions.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1986

Comparison between two different posologies of ranitidine on 24-hour gastric acidity in duodenal ulcer patients.

Eight outpatients with active duodenal ulcer, endoscopically proven, entered a controlled double-dummy cross-over study aimed at comparing the effects of ranitidine 150 mg b.i.d. and 300 mg nocte on 24-h intragastric titratable acidity and pH. Both treatments markedly inhibited (p less than 0.01) gastric acid secretion when the mean 24-h results were compared. When the effects of two posologies on nocturnal and diurnal periods were considered separately, 300 mg appeared to control nocturnal acid secretion more actively, while during the day 150 mg b.i.d. seemed to be the more active. Since nocturnal hypersecretion can be considered an important determinant of duodenal ulcer, a large bedtime dose of ranitidine seems to represent a valid therapeutic approach to this disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

[Incidence and evolution of soft tissues calcifications in patients in periodic hemodialysis (author's transl)].

In a series of 92 patients' in hemodialysis the evolution of periarticular and vascular calcifications has been studied. A correlation exists between the incidence of arterial calcifications and the patients' age, while no direct correlation has been proved to exist with the duration of dialysis. In fact their annual average increase (8.4%) is similar to that of periarticular calcifications (12.2%).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Treatment of ectopic calcification in uremia.

Nine uremic patients on maintenance hemodialysis who showed wide arterial and/or stable periarticular calcifications in spite of a well controlled hyperphosphatemia were treated with the diphosphonate disodium ethane-1-hydroxy-1,1-diphosphonate (EHDP) in doses of 7.5 to 10 mg/kg of body wt/per day for 5 to 9 months. No clinical or biochemical side-effects were noted. A significant reduction of the extent of periarticular calcifications was observed in five patients: two of them had a complete regression of soft-tissue calcifications, and one patient showed a reduction of arterial calcification. EHDP (7.5 to 10 mg/kg of body wt/per day) induced a significant increase of the osteoid volume and osteoid surface without significant modification of the calcification front. No evident effect on bone resorption and on the mineral content of the radius has been observed.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

[Chronic broncopneumopathy and pneumoconiosis in workers employed in phosphoric acid production (author's transl)].

Thirty-five subjects employed in a phosphoric acid producing plant were studied by the authors. The investigation included: history, according to the C.E.C.A. questionnaire for chronic bronchitis and emphysema; physical examination, chest X-ray spirometry and lung diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide by the steady state method (DLCOSS). High prevalence of chronic bronchitis (45.7%), obstructive spirometric impairment (37.1%), and decreased values of DlcoSS (31.4%) were detected. Two subjects were found to be affected with p 1/0 and 7 with p 0/1 pneumoconiosis. Such findings were significantly related to the lenght of working activity as well as to dust and gaseous fluoride (hydrofluoric acid, hexafluorosilicic acid and silicon tetrafluoride) exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

[Epidemiologic evaluation of isocyanate immediate irritative action: 'one day effect' control (author's transl)].

Nineteen MDI exposed workers showed ventilatory changes, after eight hour exposure, mainly involving upper respiratory airways; the changes reversed following a bronchodilator aerosol. An incomplete recovery of VC was found in some subjects; therefore, the possibility of changes in the lung elastic recoil forces was hypothesized. No statistically significant differences were found as to occupation and smoking habit, which suggests that even low MDI concentrations could be enough to give rise to acute effects. The greater impairment found in subjects who were already affected by morning time emphasizes the necessity that such subjects were not employed in their specific work.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

[Periaticular metastatic calcifications in uremic patients].

Metastatic periarticular calcification was observed in 18 per cent of a series of 61 patients receiving haemodialytic treatment for from 3 months to over 5 yr. Calcium deposits occurred more frequently in the 1st and 2nd yr of treatment. The factors responsible included the plasma calcium-phosphorus product, non-optimal calcium and magnesium ion concentration in the dialysis bath, and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Tests for the diagnosis of parathyroid hyperfunction in the uraemic subject are described. The therapeutic criteria adopted in the prevention and management of calcification are also discussed.

Acidosis↗